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Both of these recent reviews of The Warded Man feature two similar qualities. The first: the authors of both blogs were skeptical when they cracked open the first book in the Demon Cycle. The second: both authors ended up giving The Warded Man more than 4 stars.

The first review comes from AQ’s Reviews, a blogger who reviews comics, science-fiction and fantasy books as well as television series. A lot of fantasy authors these days have a tough job trying to both ground their imagined worlds in more traditional fantasy worlds while, at the same time, striving to bring something entirely new and original to the genre. Readers are hungry for freshly imagined cultures and new twists on old tropes. In this review, the author delves into this discussion and talks about patterns that fantasy authors tend to often repeat in terms of character, plot and world. These can range from the superficial: how the characters look and present themselves to the major story arc of the book or series.

The second review is pulled from An Infinite Number of Monkeys, a blog dedicated to books, writing and photography. This reviewer first heard about The Warded Man because of all the press Peat got for writing on his cellphone on the F train (a fact that I am still impressed with). Noting that writing a book on a cellphone is definitely cool, the author wondered: was the book any good?

After expecting a boy fulfilling prophecy book during the first chapters, the reviewer quickly changes his tune upon meeting the rest of the beloved cast: Leesha and Rojer. The review notes how Peat uses some traditional fantasy tropes, but twists them into something more inventive.